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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

I am crocheting a whole slew of flowers for a really awesome project I have in mind. Well, at least I hope it turns out really awesome! Time will tell, right? I'll be sharing all the patterns very soon.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Have you ever needed to thread a button with yarn? I certainly have had a fair number of crochet, knit, and even just good ol' fashioned crafts that needed this done. It's one of those silly little things that could take your f o r e v e r, but it doesn't need to. Maybe you already have a trick (share your secrets in the comments!) but if you don't, here's mine: a glue stick.

Gently press the yarn into the stick and then pull it out. Take your fingers and twist in the direction of the yarn, essentially you're glueing the strands of yarn tighter together. Keep twisting until you have a fine point. Your fingers will be a tiny bit sticky, but most of the glue will come off by simply rubbing your fingers together (if it doesn't you used too much). Give the glue a few seconds to set and then easily poke it through the button hole! It's so easy!

So, what do you think? Is this something that you've already been doing? Is it something you're going to try? Or do you have something that works even better? Tell me!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

From the Host: Breastfeeding is an important part of motherhood, but not necessarily an easy one. As moms, we owe it to ourselves to try and make our jobs go smoother. We owe it to ourselves AND to our children to take care of ourselves and to feel good. Part of feeling good is looking good, and Momzelle helps moms like me along the way.

From me: I would like to add something personal to this giveaway post. Maybe you're just here for the giveaway, and if so that's fine, just skip on down. There's so much drama over feeding babies these days. Breastfeeding pictures are marked as porn and provocative underwear models are considered mundane. The mommy-wars over breast vs. bottle; it all gets a bit crazy. There are some very good reasons to breastfeed -- personally, I do think in general it's best for the baby. There are so many reasons why it might not be best though -- some reasons lay with the baby and others with the mother. We live in a time where all types of special formulas are available. These are great too. With my first baby I had to come to a compromise, because she simply wouldn't nurse. I was able to pump and then bottle feed her. This was so complicated! It did have some benefits of both worlds, but it also had the drawbacks of both. My second I was able to successfully breastfeed, and I am happy that I was able to do that. Do I think less of a mother that chooses formula? NO! I'm happy that the child is receiving nourishment. Childraising is so hard, we don't need to make it harder.

That all being said, I had quite a difficult time finding nice nursing wear! So much of it was either unflattering or crazy expensive. I often resorted to simply wearing a cami under a regular shirt. It works, but some real nursing wear would have been nice!

Enter to win a $25 gift card to momzelle using the entry form below! Giveaway runs from 12 AM EST on 3.17.16- 11:59 PM EST on 3.30.16. Open to residents of the US and Canada age 18+.
Momzelle $25 Gift Card Giveaway

Disclosure: Mom Blog Society received an item for review only and no other compensation for the giveaway. No other bloggers involved in the promotion of this giveaway, including The Philosopher's Wife, were compensated in any way for the promotion of this giveaway. The bloggers involved in this giveaway are not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment. Prize delivery and fulfillment is the responsibility of the sponsor (momzelle). The winner will be notified via email and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter are not endorsing or liable for this giveaway.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

It's decision time. I love this yarn. I love this pattern. I'm not loving the two together. Part of me just wants to keep going and see if I like the finished product. I guess it's possible I will, right? Another part of me thinks I should not waste my time and frog it now. I do only have so much time every day. What would you do?

If you're curious, the yarn for this hat is a gift from Expression Fiber Arts and the knitting pattern is the mont-royal. Also, this project is part of my "I WILL work through my WIPS and blog post drafts" project. This week's blog post that's been in my drafts folder for almost a year would be these Narwhals.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Catherine needed (maybe "needed" is a bit strong, but you know what I mean!) some St. Valentine's Day bling this year. So what's a crafty mom to do? Sew up a hoodie!

The pattern I used is the Free Hoodie pattern from Brindille & Twig. You can get it too, just go to the site, scroll down to the bottom and look for "Free Pattern". I did make a few modifications and eliminations. I did not do the shoulder trim. I did not do a banded bottom. I did not add the kangaroo pocket. I did not do a lined hood.

I modified the front of the hood a bit. I prefer more of a crossover look to the original. I think my way ends up with a slightly wider head hole too. (Which is good for my large-headed kiddos!)

The fabric is a lightweight French Terry from Girl Charlee. (I think it was a limited time fabric from last year.) It was my first time working with French Terry. It's all the rage right now in most of my sewing groups and I can see why. It's soft, easy to work with, and quite comfortable.

This was such a great project. Cut to finish was less than 45 minutes, which included a cutting snafu. The pattern is super simple, especially pared down like I did it, and having a serger makes the sewing part just fly! I like this hoodie so much that I need one of my own! I think I have enough fabric left to sew myself a matching hoodie, although mine will probably be a Lane Raglan.

If you're new to either of the two online shops I mentioned, Brindille & Twig or Girl Charlee, it would be awesome if you go through my links to make a purchase! I will receive a small referral bonus and I believe you will receive a percentage discount. It's a win-win!

By the way, Catherine is modeling her hoodie outside of Mission: SPACE at EPCOT. This is such a great ride! If you go be sure to do the ORANGE mission, it's pretty amazing. Have you been there?

Saturday, March 12, 2016

I recently had a unique request for a pod of Narwhales. Technically it wasn't that recent, I'm pretty behind with my blogging right now. It was this year though. (Update: Nope. It wasn't this year. I'm even further behind with my blogging!) Also, as far as I can tell the internet is split on whether or not "narwhal" or "narwhalE" is correct. I put the "e" in my header photo, so that's what I'm sticking to in this post.

After scouring the internet, meaning Pinterest and Ravelry, I decided that this would be the pattern for me. The expansion for the Narwhals is free, and can be found here, if you already own the whale or manatee pattern from NeedleNoodles.

By the way, this is NOT a sponsored post. I purchased the whale pattern. The pattern was well written, had lots of helpful pictures, and even included some charts. Overall, a great purchase. I love the way the tail is constructed. I don't know why, but when I read through the directions I didn't quite understand what was going on with the tail, but once I started crocheting it everything made sense. It's clever!

If you shop at Amazon, would you please consider using my affiliate links? It doesn't cost you anything and it gives me a few pennies for every dollar you spend. I really appreciate it! I will be sharing this post at these awesome blogs!

Another yarn-y project that I'd like to highlight is from Ana Love Craft; she knitted a lovely coat for herself. (Also, given that it's the March Yarn Fanatic Party, how could I not feature the rainbow with its treasure at the end?)

I have a special giveaway for you this month. One of my lovely readers, Carianne Wilson, is sponsoring this month's giveaway! (I seriously have some of the best followers!)

One lucky reader will receive four skeins of yarn and a beautiful shawl pattern.

This limited edition Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport yarn is 100% Superwash Merino Wool with 200 yards per skein. You will receive two skeins of The Light Side and two The Dark Side. The shawl pattern is called Use the Force, which you can have in either knit (designed by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreicher)or crochet (designed by Leanne Spinazola).

This shawl pattern requires two colors, using two skeins of one of the colors and one of the other. It all depends on whether you want the Light Side or the Dark Side to prevail. (I'll admit, I'm geeking out a bit over this motif!)

US residents only. Must be 18+. Void where prohibited. Facebook and other social media are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, after that a new winner will be drawn. The Philosopher's Wife is not responsible for prize or for shipment.

What have you created with yarn? It could be something you crocheted, knitted, or anything that used yarn. It can be a new project or an old one. (I would appreciate it though if it had not been linked up to a previous Yarn Fanatic Party.) I can't wait to see what you've created!

Leave comments here, there, and everywhere. (Please, take a moment to visit at least other blog and leave a comment. I want this to be a supportive community of yarn lovers.)

If you're not a blogger, but want to participate, feel free to upload a picture from Flicker!

By linking up you are giving me permission to share your photos, with the appropriate credit, of course!

PLEASE NOTE: Per InLinkz guidelines, listings linked to purchase options isn't permitted. This means that you cannot link directly to Etsy listings or Ravelry pages where there is an option to buy the pattern. You may link to a Pin, or a Facebook page, or a Flickr page, etc. Links to where to buy the pattern included in a blog post are permitted

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